Shivers VI

Shivers #6

by Richard Chizmar (Editor), Stephen King, Peter Straub

Cemetery Dance Publications is proud to announce the sixth entry in this award-nominated and best-selling anthology series!

Shivers VI weighs in at 410 pages and contains more than 110,000 words from today's most popular authors of horror and suspense including Stephen King, Peter Straub, Al Sarrantonio, Jay Bonansinga, Lisa Tuttle, David B. Silva, Melanie Tem, Brian Hodge, Brian Keene, Alan Peter Ryan, Blake Crouch and Jack Kilborn, Bev Vincent, Brian James Freeman, Norman Prentiss, and many others.

Two of the longest pieces are "The Crate" by Stephen King, his long lost novella that has never appeared in any of his collections, and "A Special The Heart of A Dark Matter" by Peter Straub, a novella that is "creepy to the core" and "shines a terrible light on the backstory of Straub's acclaimed A Dark Matter" according to the coveted Starred Review from Publishers Weekly.

Featuring original dark fiction with a handful of rare reprints, Shivers VI is available only from Cemetery Dance Publications.

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Richard Chizmar is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author.

He is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the bestselling novella, Gwendy’s Button Box and the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than 35 anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including multiple editions of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award.

Chizmar (in collaboration with Johnathon Schaech) has also written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, Showtime, NBC, and many other companies. He has adapted the works of many bestselling authors including Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Bentley Little.

Chizmar is also the creator/writer of the online website, Stephen King Revisited. His fourth short story collection, The Long Way Home, was published in 2019. With Brian Freeman, Chizmar is co-editor of the acclaimed Dark Screams horror anthology series published by Random House imprint, Hydra.

His latest book, The Girl on the Porch, was released in hardcover by Subterranean Press, and Widow’s Point, a chilling novella about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, Billy Chizmar, was recently adapted into a feature film.

Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.

Reviews

[Mike Kazmierczak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been having a hard time getting through some of my short story collections lately. In fact there's one that I've been reading for over a year now; I think I'm averaging about one story per month. I'm not sure why I'm so against short stories right now. I'm still enjoying novellas; it's just the short form. Maybe I'm looking for stronger character development or more reason to care. Something that is easier to find in novels and novellas. Even the SHIVERS series which is always strong with its short stories didn't really do it for me this time. There were five different stories that I flagged as being memorable but that was it. Nothing against the other authors. As I mentioned, it's all me. I hope it's just a phase that will end as unexpectedly as it began.

"Serial" by Blake Crouch and Jack Kilborn - Two serial killers run across each other's paths and try to make the other a victim.

"The Crate" by Stephen King - Maybe a mini-cheat since I've seen the segment in the movie Creepshow and I've read the comic of the same name. The story is still fun to read, especially hearing each character with their corresponding actor's voice.

"The Last Beautiful Day" by Brian James Freeman - A photographer tries to help with building some memories a couple's newborn babies. A short but very sad tale.

"In The Raw" by Briand Hodge - A man tries to avoid jail while dealing with troubles from his uncle.

"Bits and Pieces" by Lisa Tuttle - A woman uses her past relationships to build a perfect man.

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

1st: serial, by blake crouch & jack kilborn.
heh! 'bout some serial killers. some nasty business in this story, the means of one...something you may not have read elsewhere. i believe it (the method) has reached a national audience. they get theirs

2nd: the crate, stephen king.
a crate is found by the janitor, a crate from june 19, 1843, if i remember rightly. and inside? heh! this story kinda goes along w/at least one, or more, of the 4 stories in full dark no stars, the theme of...misguided revenge? revenge, period? squat and mute.

3rd: the last beautiful day, brian james freeman
so this guy whose wife delivered (had to deliver) a dead baby visits the hospital to take photos of the dead babies of other people. short piece.

4th: cobwebs, kealan patrick burke
creepy story about old folk home...and you can't trust what you read early on...nice, hey? eye-narrator.

5th: the old ways, norman prentiss
since i'm a carpenter, i liked this one...old folks home, yes, but the story takes place across the street, old house, new couple, woman takes on repairs, hubby at work...and things happen...the old from the home get involved.

6th: waiting for darkness, brian keene
a one-page story...short & sweet or maybe not sweet...

7th:like lick 'em sticks, like tina fey, glen hirshberg
weird story...part of that coming from the telling...or like the sailor in chekhov's story w/his eye to the hole in the wall, not seeing all or hearing all, but enough. there's other stories like this, the technique...character says a piece and the other knows what's what, but you need to keep reading to catch on...like tina fey...

8th: ghost writer in my eye, wayne allen sallee
reminds me of umney's last case by stephen king...this, where the writer is involved, somehow...just exactly how, isn't clear...

9th: palisado, alan peter ryan
single character, his horse in a barn, he is in a cabin, winter storm. this story is a hoot. has a kind of fantasy-element, never explained, this mystery that develops and departs...i enjoyed this one

10th: stillness, richard thomas
this one seems like a post-end-of-the-world as-we-know-it story...short too...these stories play off each other?

11th: in the raw, brian hodge
ex-prison works at a rendering plant...playing off the last seems like...this one....you read it and have to ask...well, was that okay, then?

12th i found a little hole, nate southard
kid finds a hole in the yard w/qqc in it.

13th fallow, scott nicholson
end-of-the-world story...dontcha hate that...defining qqc w/a word? but it gets a pt across. good end of world story.

14th mole, jay bonansinga
a holy story. this one is creepy. something about guys in collars, demons, big and small, etc.

15th the shoes, melanie tem
yes....heh heh!
but...it does leave me wondering...

16th bits & pieces, lisa tuttle
what the title says...bits and pieces...reminded of donald barthelme w/this one...'my father, concerned about his liver...'.....

17th trouble follows, david b silva
neato...nice idea...the idea seems like it must have been "done" before, but for the life of me, i don't recall

18th keeping it in the family, robert morrish
after war story ... lot of unexplained phenomena

19th it is the tale, bev vincent
telling tales....remember that? if you do...who are you?

20th a special place: the heart of a dark matter, peter straub
read this one in its stand-alone piece....great story.

marvelous...simply marvelous...i enjoyed all the various takes on situations.

[Metagion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology I thought was well done. Without being too spoiley, some of the stories were very "out of the box," which is what I enjoy. One story, (for me), stood out: "Trouble Follows," by David B. Silva was one of those masterpieces that is SO rare these days. Stephen King also had, for the first time in print, "The Crate," which was made into a short for the movie "Creepshow" in the 80s. If you like top-notch writing (and don't mind reading 410 pages, since some are novella stories) you WILL enjoy this book. Happy reading!

[Shawna]

I received this book through GoodReads giveaway and I'm so glad I did because it contains a short story by Stephen King called "The Crate", which is a previously unpublished story. The first story in the collection called "Serial." This short story is about what might happen when two serial killers meet. All the stories were well written and each had its own unique plot line. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read the Blake Crouch story but then I saw that Stephen King had a story as well. I read both of those, and they were great stories. Blake Crouch's story was a bit gruesome and Stephen King's story, well, of course, it was 40 pages of great King. Happy Halloween, indeed.

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Chizmar is the editor of Cemetery Dance, both a quarterly magazine and a publishing house that specializes in horror/dark fantasy. As is obvious by the title, Shivers VI is the sixth entry in a series of horror/dark fantasy anthologies featuring original (i.e., not previously published) stories from a number of writers, including Brian Keene, Al Sarrantonio, Lisa Tuttle, Melanie Tem, David Silva, Peter Straub and Stephen King, among others. As always, some stories struck me more forcefully than others. The anthology got off to a great start with "Serial," a collaboration between authors Blake Crouch and Jack Kilborn in which they ponder what might happen if a serial killer of hitch-hikers picked up a serial-killer hitch-hiker, nicely conflating two strong urban legends; and I also enjoyed Stephen King's "Crate," about what might be lurking in long-untouched university storage rooms; Norman Prentiss' "The Old Ways" in which a modern young woman comes across some very old-fashioned values in the small town to which she and her husband have moved; "Like Lick 'Em Sticks, Like Tina Fey," the cleverly titled vampire story by Glen Hirshberg; Al Sarrantonio's "Last," which is more science fiction than horror; and Lisa Tuttle's "Bits and Pieces," a delightful dark fantasy about what our lovers leave behind when they leave our lives. The volume ends with Peter Straub's novella, "A Special Place: The Heart of a Dark Matter," which details the childhood and adolescent development of a serial killer; I found it well-done, if gory, up until the end and then I felt quite disappointed because the story just stopped, and I wanted more. Which I suppose can be seen as a positive response, when you think about it....Obviously this anthology will not be to everyone's taste, but if you have the stomach for it, the writing is of a very high caliber throughout and you may find a new favourite author or three between its covers; recommended for those who can stand it!

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good anthology for Halloween, and several stories gave me the willies. I started with mini-reviews for each of the stories, but then got lazy. Aside from the ones below, I liked "Palisado", "Ghost Writer in My Eye", "I Found a Little Hole", and "Mole."

A couple of stories got a little squicky, but I suppose that is to be expected in the horror genre.

Rating: each story varies in the type and intensity of the content, throughout the book there is a range from PG to R, for strong language (f-words), violence, gore, some sexuality (strong in one or two stories).

Serial (4/5): Super creepy little story about two sketchy folks who happen to encounter each other and trouble ensues. He's a serial killer who picks up hitchhikers, and she's a serial killer who is a hitchhiker. He tortures his victims, she drugs hers and drags them naked behind their car. He picks her up, they altercate, both end up being chained to the car as it rolls down the steep grade and die miserable deaths.

The Crate (4/5): Pretty good story from King. Monster in an old box, kills a couple of people when the box is opened. Guy who escaped tells his friend, who drugs our guy to sleep. While he sleeps, friend lures his own shrewish wife to the box so that she gets eaten. He then dumps the box, destroys the evidence, and tells our guy what happened when he wakes in the morning. They decide to keep it quiet, and so it goes.

The Last Beautiful Day (3/5): Pretty sad story that hits a little too close to home due to the recent sad experience of a friend. I have to admit, I did wonder what was in the bag. Man and woman lose their child in utero. He takes pictures at the hospital for recently deceased kids to help him cope with the grief, but it doesn't seem to be working. He is sad, and so is his wife.

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a composite of short stories ( some merely a page to almost novella size) by various authors. Stephen King usually puts one story. In this book, his short story is entitled "The Crate."Many of the authors who contribute to this anthology of stories have novels in the horror/fantasy genre but this gives you a chance to taste the smorgasbord of writing styles and presentation of multiple authors in one volume. At the end of each Shiver book, there are short biographies of the various authors with references to their other works for adventurous readers to pursue. There are about 8 books so far composed together by Richard Chizmar that I know of since I got introduced to these books. As far as I know, there is no sequence order of which one to read first. Great book to pick up for reading a quick tale.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book through GoodReads giveaway program and I'm so glad I did! If you like those spine-tingling tales, this is definitely the book for you! All the stories were well written and each had its own unique plot line. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Jenni Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

More scary stories to read at night! (Evil laughter)

[[on hiatus, probably forever] The rockabilly werewolf from Mars · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the whole, I enjoyed this anthology. Although not all the stories were to my taste (I mostly prefer supernatural horror; non-supernatural stories need to be especially atmospheric to hold my attention), there is a fine piece by Peter Straub, and a Stephen King story that is rarely anthologized. Also worth noting is Palisado, a neat atmospheric piece by one of the major figures in the 80s "quiet horror" movement. One piece that disappointed me was The Old Ways. From the name, I was expecting some rad Wicker Man-style folk horror, but it turned out to be about the generation gap. I will also mention Serial; although it was not really my type of horror (I think serial killers are overdone), I thought that the premise was rather amusing. Still worth reading, even if just for the King story.

[Isidore · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole a resolutely mediocre anthology, containing (despite the cover) surprisingly little supernatural fiction. Two crime stories (by Peter Straub and Brian Hodge) are among its best entries; there are also nifty exercises in unclassifiable bizarrarie by Nate Southard, a writer new to me, and the late, very much lamented Alan Ryan, returning all too briefly to a field in which he was once a dominant figure.

[Bill Borre]

"In the Raw" by Brian Hodge - Renny is an ex-con who works in a rendering plant. His uncle recruits him for an auto theft job and so Renny buys a shotgun but he doesn't want to risk losing his wife and two kids so he shoots his uncle.

"Waiting for Darkness" by Brian Keene - Artie and his sister Betty are at the beach and he allows her to bury him in the sand up to his head. After he is immobilized pedophiles kidnap his sister leaving him helpless as the tide rolls in.

[DJMikeG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely varied collection of short fiction, ranging from excellent to really bad stories. My favorite was the opener, Blake Crouch and Jack Kilborn's "Serial". From there, the stories go up and down in quality. And Brian Keene's contribution is one page long. Okay overall, but I wouldn't spend money on a book like this. Glad it was at my local library!

[Tom Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll read more of Scott Nicholson's work. His short piece in this collection is set in a post nuclear fallout world. The Dystopian theme is one of my favorites.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most solid horror anthologies I have ever read.